Religious teenagers are less likely to try marijuana
Now a new national study by two Brigham Young University sociologists finds that religious involvement makes teens half as likely to use marijuana. The study ‘ which will be published October 13 in the Journal of Drug Issues ‘ settles a question scholars have disagreed on in the past.
“Some may think this is an obvious finding, but research and expert opinion on this issue have not been consistent,” said BYU sociology professor Stephen Bahr and an author on the study. “After we accounted for family and peer characteristics, and regardless of denomination, there was an independent effect that those who were religious were less likely to do drugs, even when their friends were users.”
The study, co-authored by BYU sociologist John Hoffmann, also found individual religiosity buffered peer pressure for cigarette smoking and heavy drinking. The term religiosity as used in the study has to do with people’s participation in a religion and not the particular denomination. Hoffmann said the protective effect of church and spirituality supplements the influence of parents.
‘Parents shouldn’t force it, but they can encourage spirituality and religion in their families, which in itself becomes a positive influence in their children’s lives,’ Hoffmann said.
Two data sets were used in the study, 13,534 students who participated in the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health and 4,983 adolescents in a state-wide survey of Utah schools. Individual religiosity was measured by two questions: one asked the students how frequently they attended church and the other asked the students to rate the importance of religion to them.
“The power of peers is less among youths who are religious,” Bahr said. “Meaning if you are religious, the pressure from peers to use drugs will not have as much effect”. More.
I personally don’t think it’s peer pressure that is stopping religious kids from trying marijuana. It’s a fear that god will send them to hell for using marijuana, which is weird since god created the Earth, and thus also created marijuana. I can only assume he created it for us.
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